Archaeologists may have found temple of Peruvian mythical ruler

Published: Monday, December 7, 2009, 15:54 [IST]

Subscribe to Oneindia News

Lima (Peru), December 7 (ANI): Archaeologists of the Bruning Museum in Lambayeque, Peru, have discovered, next to the Huaca Chornancap pyramid, what is thought to be the sacred temple of Naylamp, a supposedly mythical ruler that according to oral legend was the founder of the post-Moche Lambayeque civilization.

According to a report in en Peru, it took eight months of excavation to reveal the temple.

Removing the sand dunes that for centuries covered the 250 square metres that make up the temple took as many as 50 men, directed by archaeologist Carlos Wester La Torre, using only small digging tools and wheelbarrows to haul away the carefully removed sands, all in the midst of strong winds that plague the area.

As soon as the excavations began, researchers could immediately appreciate the structure of the temple.

A series of paintings - with representations of the ceremonies that where realised in the temple, as well as shapes and patterns immediately recognizable as Mochica and Lambayeque iconography - covered a number of walls on the highest parts of the adobe structure.

The appearance of algarrobo tree trunks that formed part of the roof of the temple filled the researches with expectation.

Metres below, they found a throne in a perfect state of conservation, located closest to the Chornancap pyramid.

This would have been used by whoever was the political, religious or military power of the time.

The researchers think that the temple has a direct relationship with Naylamp, a mysterious figure who, according to legend, arrived in the decades following the collapse of the Moche on a fleet of vessels.

This strange ruler covered in the feathers of birds from a distant tropical land rebuilt civilization in the region, giving birth to the Chimu and the Sican societies, before passing on his kingdoms to his sons and himself passing into mythology.

According to Carlos Wester La Torre, the director, Bruning Museum, the structure possesses a high level of religious content related to whoever was in power.

"The existence of pedestals in the shape of chakanas (Andean Crosses) and painted murals en which we can appreciate sacred rituals, as well as the well-known anthropomorphic waves, are proof that this site was used by important people, perhaps the founder of the Lambayeque civilisation, Naylamp and his eldest son Cium and other descendants," he explained.

The discovery of paintings on the walls the surround the temple reinforce the oral tradition of Naylamp, and repeat scenes that appear regularly in the civilization's iconography. (ANI)